


Nepenthe

by eternally_elysian



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF, 백작가의 망나니가 되었다 - 유려한 | Trash of the Count's Family - Yulyeohan
Genre: Ahaha poor Cale, Alberu is tired, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Author is a Clay | Dream Apologist (Video Blogging RPF), Cale fails at slacking, ChoiCale is in love, Clay | Dream Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Family Feels, First work - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Just not yet, M/M, Morally Ambiguous Character, Not Beta Read, Pandora’s Vault Prison, Possession, References to Depression, not really but if it fits the plot...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29848473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternally_elysian/pseuds/eternally_elysian
Summary: The air was still and the world seemed dead silent. Cale opened his eyes not to his family and home but to the sight of flowing lava and frigid cold flooring, a prison bare and empty. It was Pandora’s vault, and the only known prisoner to the day he stopped watching those streams was the main antagonist. A main antagonist to all, no matter who portrayed the protagonist.Of all the people Cale transmigrated into it just had to be Dream.
Relationships: Alberu Crossman & Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo, Alberu Crossman & Choi Han, Alberu Crossman & Choi Han & Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo, Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo & Hong & Raon Miru & On, Choi Han/Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo, Clay | Dream & Darryl Noveschosch, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Original Cale Henituse & Everyone, Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47





	Nepenthe

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven’t seen one of the 2 yet, that’s totally fine. Feel free to read.
> 
> For those seeing this from Dream SMP fandom, here’s some general knowledge. Trash of the Count’s Family is a currently ongoing 650+ chapter Korean web novel though there is an English translations. All the characters and important features will be explained and introduced so there isn’t much knowledge needed there. What I do want to mention though is that our protagonist Cale Henituse has multiple powers. Kim Roksoo was transported into Cale’s body and all he wants is a slacker life but ended becoming the protagonist. I also stopped watching a lot of the streams after the fall of Manberg thought I do have a semblance of what is happening. 
> 
> For those seeing this from TCF fandom. Dream SMP is literally just a bunch of Minecraft YouTubers and streamers messing around on Dream’s server while portraying a story of betrayal and war. Fanfic writers and animators just like portraying them dramatically.

‘ _Entry 1_

_~~It’s been 7 days~~. _ _I don’t know how long I’ve been here but I already feel as if I’m going insane. ~~At least he won’t be able to escape.~~ This place seems inescapable, especially since I was the one who commissioned the places. Sam had given me plenty of journals and ink, giving me something to do. Sam mentioned the possibility of Tommy coming, I won’t be able to look at him without thinking about what _ ~~_he_ ~~ _( ~~why am I talking about it like I wasn’t the one who caused the pain?~~ ) I did to him. What worries me more is the fact I don’t feel particularly guilty. I just want him gone. I want everyone gone. But I still want them to stay. He says no one wants me, everyone hates me. I can’t exactly blame them. Maybe I do miss George, SapNap and Bad. Maybe I do feel betrayed by Punz. I don’t feel like dwelling on it, there’s no point. _

_Never did I ever think of feeling betrayal, of feeling fear or of feeling anything along the lines of pain, regret and loneliness. I stood and spoke words, empty to the ears of those who pretended to listen and pretended to care. I’m not ready to break just yet but everything is boring. It’s monotone, only ever showing black or orange, colors I’ve come to hate. I’m not sure how long my mind will remain clear._

_From the first time I experienced the exhilaration of chaos, destruction and the games that follow, I couldn’t stop. It was like a drug._

_I don’t expect it to be too long before Tommy demands answers. After all, I know everyone on this server better than they know themselves. I’ve seen everyone’s lowest and their highest, gathering every fact in my mind as a tool or an asset in order to bring them down if I ever needed to. Knowledge is power, is it not? Sometimes I wonder why I even do this. Do I even know myself? Am I going insane or was I insane all along?_

_I want to leave but I’d be a fool to think that anyone would come for me.’_

——

Cale wasn’t home, he could tell that much in his groggy and hazed state. He wasn’t at the villa awaking besides a larger body and his children, feeling warm arms encasing his delicate body nor was he in the type of pain he felt after passing battles and days asleep. He was alone, in a place dimly lit. Part of him felt like he was burning but another part of him felt like he was dumped in cold water, shivering in an empty frigid cave. Only a small glowing stone stood above a chest, water encased in a cauldron and a lecture holding a journal were in his vision. He could see lumps of raw potatoes against the cold ground, molded and almost inedible. Embers of fire emerged from burning lava, the contrast between the sleek black walls and the vivid orange of lava hurt his eyes. The cold ground, originally black, was painted crimson. Other areas were covered with grime and vomit. There was a little hole of water.

What caught Cale’s eyes though was a porcelain mask laid in the corner, shattered but in one piece, stained in blood. He could see the figure of a smiling face, to see it broken and dirtied was unnerving. Somewhere in his mind he already knew where he was and who he was. 

He debated just going back to sleep, he did not want to deal with whatever situation the world had presented him. His body seemed to agree with going back to sleep. Cale just wanted to wake up and have some normalcy, not that the universe had anything normal in store for him. He could already feel himself fading in and out of consciousness, whatever condition his body was in now was far worse than even the body of weak Cale Henituse. 

He hesitantly tried to stand, legs wobbling in the motion, heading for the closed chest, there was something in there. His body felt like what it once was long ago when the apocalypse first started, long before he became the Henituse’s oldest. There was always a gnawing feeling in his stomach, shaking hands and loose grips. Upon opening the chest there were journals littered within. Some torn, some neatly written and some he could already tell were too messy to read. He glanced over into the water reflecting his appearance which only confirmed exactly who he was. Curly blonde hair, emerald colored eyes, freckled face.

Cale was now Dream, the main antagonist of a role play which took place through the course of multiple gaming streams. He spent afternoons tuning into streams alone in the orphanage. Dream, as the main villain, manipulated everyone, even children, wanting nothing but chaos. He would ominously make visits on other people’s streams, throwing away anything in order to gain leverage and power. Original Cale Henituse was just a minor villain. Sure, no one liked him or could stand him but he was redeemable and it showed with how easily people named him a hero. Dream seemed borderline unredeemable at this point, reaching new heights of what he would do to gain power that far surpassed Cale. He never quite understood Dream’s insatiable want for power. Even the most corrupt would never make the sacrifices he did. Some of those sacrifices included his own emotions. 

He stared back towards the chest, carefully putting the journals in order next to the chest. Cale sat a top the creaking chest, pulling the ordered books into his lap, he needed to get some semblance of his current situation that he may not been informed of. Dream never streamed from his point of view, everything about him seemed some what sealed off. As he flipped through the journals, his hands wouldn’t remain stable, trembling and fumbling with each book. He unbuttoned the top of the hideous orange jumpsuit as sweat dripped down his face and onto the pages. He curled up his sleeves, wanting nothing more than a cold bath back at home. The skin of Dream’s body was scarred, much like his body as Kim Roksoo. The scars were records of different weapons, from swords to arrows to axes to many more, hitting his skin in battle. For seconds (was it seconds?) at a time he could feel himself passing out to find himself awake, head drooping down and book fallen on the ground. Sometimes he would stumble off his spot on the chest onto the cold ground, a bruise or two had probably formed by now. The process repeated for a while until the final entry was read. ‘Record’ gave him the ability to remember anything he chose to record with his eyes ( ~~Hey, rookie. How come you can remember anything you want to remember after seeing it once, but never remember anything you don't want to remember as if you have amnesia?~~ ). His face and body in response would always heat up whenever he used his ability. 

A message flashed through the communicator tied to his jumpsuit. The main connection was cut off along with any others that didn’t belong to Sam, the warden and constructor of the Pandora’s vault.  
  


“Dream, you will receive your first visitor in 3 hours. Please prepare and if any attempt are made towards escaping, I will not hesitate to take measures in order to return you.”

  
The first thing his mind thought of was mask— his character was always displayed with a mask upon his face, who he really was remained a mystery. Going without his signature smiling mask would only make people more suspicious of him. He turned to approach the object laid in the corner but the closer he got, the stronger the ominous and vicious aura was. His hand stretched towards the mask but found himself instinctively hesitating, almost flinching away. His fingers lingered on the smooth but fractured surface for a moment. All the cool air in the room slowly seeped away and he was left with the agonizing burn of the searing heat emitted from the lava towards his unadjusted body. Cale lifted his head up quickly, his head pounding even harder than before and his eyes began blurring, attempting to shut in exhaustion. The feeling of dread and death spread throughout the cell once again, brisk air hugging the commander. 

— ‘Cale, do not attempt to sacrifice yourself.’

Honestly speaking, Cale would gladfully throw the mask into the lava any day and time, quickly deciding that until he was left with no other choice, he would stay as far as possible (as he could in a minuscule cell) from both the mask and the lava.

—‘Cale, that aura... we’ve felt it before. There’s something blocking Vitality of the Heart from helping you recover, I think the mask is removing the restrictions in a way. You won’t be able to deal any damage or break anything but your body can be healed to a somewhat stable state with it on. I’ve been using my own powers to stabilize you, I’ll last for three days.’

Cale sighed at Super Rock’s word, he was too tired for this. Just thinking of staying in such a place was an exhausting thought, a horror he wished to get over with. The heat searing through his body wasn’t making it much better. He resolved to put it on later, fully knowing it wouldn’t take long for his own power to heal him. Part of him was confused, Vitality of the Heart should only be able to heal him from injuries he obtained after receiving the power but this body was most likely long injured before he moved in. There was probably some obscure reason for it. He decided to stop dwelling on the topic for now for he most likely would find the answer soon enough. He focused his thought on the current state of his well being and his living quarters he would reside in until he could find a way out. 

‘I didn’t think that I’d willingly clean something for a long time as Cale Henituse.’

It reminded him of his life as Kim Roksoo, he had his own little apartment. Choi Jungsoo, his teammate and best friend, like the idiot he was would often knock sugary and sticky drinks over or maybe a plate or two leaving it up to him in order to clean. Other days he would come home, possibly with Soohyuk or Jungsoo in tow, covered in blood. Compared to the times he laid teetering on the brink of death while bleeding to death alone with his family gone, no Choi Jungsoo or Lee Soohyuk behind him, he could confirm this was much, much worse. He didn’t think of Sam to be someone who was capable of spilling this much blood through torture, not that torture was always messy, Beacrox was a fine example of mastery of both cleanliness and torture. Cale already knew that Sam wouldn’t do anything like that. He poured little water outside of the cauldron and some empty journal paper before beginning to wipe the cell down. He might as well get a bit accustomed to his new living quarters. Some blood wouldn’t come off. 

He briefly thought of using Sky Eating Water to clean everything up, debating in his addled mind whether or not that would be a downright horrible idea or a good one. Exhausted minds didn’t help decision making situations, why did the idea of using a bit of his power instead of working to scrub impossibly dried blood off the ground sound so appealing? Scrubbing the floor would most likely hurt him more than using a slight amount of his ancient power. As if the ancient power knew exactly what he was thinking, another voice spoke. 

— Cale don’t you XXX dare, it’s XXX worse than you XXX think

With a swish of his fingers, he attempted to send out a small flood of water, which took a lot more effort than anticipated, in order to send the grime into lava. He felt the familiar feeling of blood rushing up his throat and light-headedness that came along from using a fair amount of his powers. He coughed the crimson blood into the hole of water. He was already beginning to see double of everything. 

— I XXX warned you

— ‘I should’ve mentioned that your body has been severely poisoned and I assume it’s from the raw potatoes. It may cause strain on your body but it will strengthen your condition over time if you cook the potatoes using your powers.’

“I hardly doubt a power named ‘Fire of Destruction’ would be able to cook food of all things.”

— Hey! You don’t know even part of my full power!

It took a moment before he could steady his feet but instantly regretted it. He slid his back against the wall, slowly falling. Cale could feel his knees hit the ice cold ground. His eyelids began to droop as he fell into an unconscious state of mind. 

‘Haaah… I guess I’ll just have to wait for the others to show up.’

Cale fully knew the people of this world couldn’t be labeled just white or black like the characters of ‘Birth of a Hero’ could. He often liked to categorize the characters in shades of grey. There was not a single person beyond the enclosure of this server who was purely good, someone who doesn’t have arson, murder, manipulation or any other type of crime under their name. Wilbur was a villain disguised as a hero and Techno was a hero disguised as a villain. People able to end nations at a time are wandering the streets, with no bounty or punishment on their head. It made it hard to choose who exactly he should confront, especially as Dream, a person most loathed the presence of. Being trash was one thing but being an antagonist almost beyond redemption is another. Concepts of betrayal were common, you could trust no one and no one could trust you. 

Good thing that Cale was no stranger to being the puppeteer and pulling the strings behind stage. 

The loud sounds of machines and swishing lava had woken him up covering the usual sound of the ticking clock. Cale wasn’t sure how long he was out, there was little sense of time within the enclosure. The black obsidian and the lava didn’t hurt his head with the contrast as much as it usual did. Instead he was met with a person under a hood, a familiar one. A cheery voice filled his ears, though to most it seemed genuine, to Cale it seemed to be dripping with fear and hesitance but also awkwardness (along with relief?). It was a whole pot stirring with different emotions.

“Hi!”

——

Two figures, both clad in heavy black clothing and masks dawned upon their face, approached a small cottage covered in snow. Upon arriving at their destination, for a brief moment they observed the house. Lamps shown through the raging blizzard, much like a lighthouse would during a storm. Nothing seemed too far out of place. Just an ordinary little home of a family out in the middle of no where. 

“Is this house the one we’re looking for?”

“I didn’t expect something as small as this cottage. Especially with their positions and skills.”

The two could see a man dawned with a blood red coat and an expensive crown upon his hair peer out into the surroundings. His aristocratic clothing choices somehow reminded one of the two of his liege. The foreigners hid beneath the bushy leaves of a nearby tree, so incredibly concealed they seemed impossible to spot for even the sharpest eyes. The man closed the door and began speaking to someone- or something. 

“It doesn’t sound like he’s talking to his roommates.”

“Cale mentioned two of them might have abilities similar to Gashan who can hear the voices of nature. The other one is part ender.”

“Ender people? I don’t remember ever hearing of them.”

“I don’t believe they lived in our world, or even yours. Cale gave me very limited information, little was included about the ender people. The relationship between the ender people and the so called ‘Enderdragon’ are much like Eruhaben and the elves. Eruhaben may take the appearance of an elf but he’s a dragon. Cale strongly believes the dragon isn’t at all related to the ender people, but instead has the same color scheme. The elves basically worship Eruhaben and do whatever he asks. There’s a special entrance to the ‘Enderdragon’s’ lair where most ender people reside. The ender people here may be unaware of the dragon's existence or choose not to serve the dragon.

As for ender people themselves, they burn in water, can teleport, pick up a single item at a time and also seamlessly avoid arrows like second nature. The boy is only half ender so I’m not sure what applies to him. He also mentioned not to look them in the eye. I’m not sure what happens but I’m not willing to find out.”

“Is anything else notable before we approach them?”

“Cale mentioned that the two humans are more similar than you think. One already calls himself the Blood God while the other calls themselves the Angel of Death. I’m not sure what he meant by that but I may as well inform you. Oh, I’ll be doing all the talking by the way.”

**Author's Note:**

> There were a lot of little details I wanted to include. This chapter remained more of an introductory but not quite a prologue. Nothing much has happened yet.
> 
> Thought I have many ideas for this AU I wasn’t sure how to write the beginning of it. This was my first time writing any sort of story so hopefully it wasn’t too bad.
> 
> Feedback is recommended!


End file.
